Allen & Overy Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo Horitsu Jimusho offers a full-service corporate mergers and acquisitions and M&A practice with a strong focus on complex cross-border outbound transactions. The company is considered a single address for all private and public mergers and acquisitions, with a “deep understanding” of the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Led by Nick Wall and Tokutaku Ito, the team covers the spectrum of topics including divestitures, joint ventures, privatizations, private equity and corporate restructurings with a team of fully bilingual practitioners with cross-legal skills. Wall has extensive experience in the automotive, TMT and healthcare industries. Ito is a cross-border financial services expert who was recently hired by MS&AD to acquire a 14.5% stake in Phoenix Group. Osamu Ito is a key member of the firm`s team, as is legal counsel Taro Nakashima, who represents Japanese clients in the food and beverage/consumer goods sectors. Senior Partner May Sakai is also important as she qualifies in the UK and Australia (Victoria). “Baker McKenzie Tokyo`s M&A practice, led by Mr. Akifusa Takada, is the most experienced cross-border M&A team in the Tokyo market.
I have worked with many other law firms in Japan, but I can say that BM Tokyo is the best because of the quality of its legal services, the breadth and depth of its talents, its business pragmatism, its seamless global network, its cultural and linguistic diversity and its flexibility, all of which are essential for conducting complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions. They are ahead of other companies in terms of gender, ethnicity and LGBTQ diversity, and use innovative technologies to do business. “Knowledge of legal practice in private equity investments. Communicative in English and Japanese. Reasonable and flexible level of fees. “The firm has a variety of clients with different business and legal needs and maintains good relationships with the clients it serves.” This provides an easy one-stop shop for business consultants and legal procurement services to gather information about the companies they want to hire. Tomohisa Muranushi and Daichi Kiriyama are our contacts in Japan for employment counselling. They are able to understand multinational corporate cultures and provide practical and relevant legal advice.
“We have never been disappointed by the work of Ushijima & Partners. They provide sound legal advice. This commentary applies regardless of the area of law. All the lawyers we have worked with at Ushijima & Partners share this shared value. “It`s a pleasure to work with partner Sam Inohara in Tokyo. his advice is quick and clear, and problems are dealt with logically and objectively, without unnecessary legalistic details or irrelevant arguments, which is not always the case in the Tokyo legal market. “Naoki Hieda is very responsive, hardworking and always has a solution to offer when it seems that the topic we are working on is at an impasse. I have also worked with Mr. Hieda for clients who have conducted cross-border transactions with legal implications between Laos and Japan. Laos is a very special market, and lawyers in jurisdictions with a more developed legal system often rely only on Lao advisors and simply pass on advice to their client. On the contrary, Mr.
Hieda tries to understand the local market and proposes solutions to best represent the interests of his client. “Adrian Joyce stands out not only for his knowledge of the LNG shipping industry from a legal perspective, but also from a business perspective.” Elsewhere, the expected influx of Covid-19 bankruptcies and restructurings never really happened, perhaps due to government intervention and support; When problems arise, large companies tend to opt for out-of-court settlements, as court proceedings are unpopular. This is expected to remain that way until the end of 2021, but many in the legal world, both in Japan and abroad, are preparing to be busy with bankruptcy and bankruptcy work next year. Published annually, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific provides unbiased commentary and insights into the legal markets of 25 jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region. As Asia Pacific Editor-in-Chief, I appreciate your feedback and insights on how we can accurately reflect the rapidly growing legal market in different jurisdictions in the guide and ensure that diversity, innovation, value for money and initiatives that businesses are taking for a greener economy are highlighted throughout the guide to reflect the ever-changing legal market. “The lawyer, Mr. Akira Matsushita, had a lot of experience in the field of public mergers and acquisitions. He was knowledgeable about legal issues and also knew how to navigate with clients based on their preferences and the latest regulatory trends. “There are different talents available in this firm as a case grows and there are multiple legal issues that may require different expertise.” “Moto Araki can provide its customer in Japan with the company`s global resources and arrange direct access and assistance when needed.” “Haruka Murata has been working with us for several years. She understands our internal decision-making processes and manages the project very effectively. I would always choose her as legal counsel for the most complex and important companies. “Our main interlocutor is Mr.
Sedlak. He knows our company well and explains things in a way that makes it easier for us to explain the situation to our management. We hold Mr. Sedlak in high regard. It quickly examines the proposed courses of action and sometimes proposes new approaches. He understands these legal limitations, but also gives us a practical “reading” of the situation and tries to propose solutions that correspond to what the sales team is trying to do. Our sales teams trust his judgment. We need someone like Mr. Sedlak who thinks carefully about the problems and understands what solutions are ultimately possible for us. Flexibility and creativity are important to us.
“We have found that our lawyers at OMM in Tokyo are truly exceptional representatives for us in the market, especially since we do not have in-house legal counsel in the country. They do a great job of translating our legal needs and interests into a very different legal and regulatory system. Very clear and effective. “Mr. Matsushita has a deep understanding of our business needs, including the competitive environment and our future business growth plan. It offers practical advice as well as suggestions for solutions. We also like his communication style; He conveys his advice on difficult topics in a way that is easy to understand, regardless of the audience and their legal understanding. “They provided advice on the cross-border reorganization, not only from a legal point of view, but also from an operational and commercial point of view.” “White & Case`s strength lies in its deep knowledge and experience of Japanese companies and business practices. Especially in the area of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, White & Case`s strength lies in its ability to provide up-to-date and professional legal advice quickly through its international network. Brian Strawn has extensive experience and business experience that allows him to conduct excellent risk assessments and provide the best advice based on the client`s business strategy. International investment in Japan continues and the legal sector is no exception, Baker McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) and Morrison Foerster are the outstanding foreign firms with large multidisciplinary offerings in the country.
Herbert Smith Freehills, White & Case LLP – White & Case Law Offices (registered partnership), Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Latham & Watkins Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise are also well established and offer strong practices. “They have a very good understanding of legal and business issues, including market trends and preferences, which makes their advice even more valuable, especially in an area where there is not much precedent.” “My main interlocutor is Mr. Akifusa Takada. Lord. Takada has always been responsive and understands the strategic objectives of our business as well as the challenges and provides solutions that best serve our interests from a holistic perspective that is not limited to the legal situation, which is exactly what I expect from my consultants. I also had the opportunity to work with Mr. Hiroshi Kasuya on a troubled merger and acquisition this year and found him to be very knowledgeable and practical in dealing with complex insolvency matters. The team staff, including Masahiro Inaba and Junya Suzuki, is doing well. “They have always hired the lead lawyer with the right level of experience, as well as the supervising lawyer, to provide us with competent legal services in the most cost-effective manner. “The team responds quickly and provides professional legal advice in a variety of situations. Yusuke Abe, in particular, has great communication skills and is a good facilitator for lenders and sponsors meetings. “The team is very diverse.
Team members come from all over the world. This allows them to understand the legal environment of different regions, which in turn are able to provide appropriate advice in different jurisdictions. If you have any comments on the Legal 500 series, please contact our research team at editorial@legal500.com Mirror image of the wider market, the legal sector has slowed down in some areas and is increasingly active in others.